Chair and sofa hinge



Jan. 30, 1951 v. P. CARRICK 2,539,812

CHAIR AND SOFA HINGE Filed Sept. 2, 1948 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IJ I 30 I I F lg. 1

l v Pi l 50 Inventor Virgil P. Garrick Mwm M WS Jan. 30, 1951 F :1 Filed Sept. 2, 1948 v. P. CARRICK 2,539,812

CHAIR AND SOFA HINGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /0 Inventor Virgil P. Carrie/r imam-32% WZ/W ms,

Patented Jan. 30, 1951 U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,539,812 mam AND surnames. Virgil P. Carrick, Point, C; Application September 2, l48 ',"Serial'l Io; 47, 174

d fllaims. 1

lhis invention relates to an adjustable and releasable hinge to be used particularly in assoelation with a chair or sofa bed.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a novel hinge for attachment to the seat and back members of a chair or sofa bed whereby the back member may be elevated from a prone position to adjusted, inclined positions.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hinge of the character described including an automatic release which is set into operation simply and effectively at a predetermined elevated position of the back member with respect to the seat member.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a hinge of the character described wherein the release mechanism functions to block the re-engagement of a locking pin in looking teeth throughout the entire downward movement of the back member with respect .to the seat member from its highest elevated position to its lowest or prone position.

A further object of this invention is to provide an adjustable releasable hingecomprising a first member having a plurality of "locking teeth, a second memberpivoted to 'th'e'first member, a link pivoted to the second member, a locking member carried at .the free end of the link, means urging the locking member into engagementwith the locking teeth, means carried by the teeth for forcing the locking member out of engagement with the locking teeth, and a novel release'means for blocking reengagement of the locking "memher and the locking teeth at a predetermined elevated position of the first member upon the second member. i 7

These, together with various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by the device, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the hinge of the instant inventionshown attached to a seat member, a back member and the frame of a chair or sofa bed,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the hinge as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a reduced sectional view similar to that shown in Figure 3 demonstrating the prone positionof a sofa bed or chair;

((31; 5-455 2 Figures 5 to 8 are schematic showings of the diiferent positionsof inclination of the sofa bed chair, and Figure!) is a fragmentary elevational view of 5 a detail of construction.

Specific reference will now be made to the drawings. In the Severn 'views, in the accompanying drawings and in the following specification, similar reference characters indicate eorresponding elements throughout.

I Indicated generally at ill is the frame member a chair or sofa bed having side members [2 i l. Secured to the side members [2 and M by means-of suitable bolts it are a pair of brackets 18 which ar substantially L shaped longitudinal ly extending members. The seat member "2% andbac-k member 22 are pivotally adjusted upon the bottom frame member H! by means of the ne hinge 2% of the instant invention.

20 'edto the seat member as at the rear end v by means of appropriate screws 2-5 and nuts 8 area pairof L- 's ha ped plates having a vertical, slightly rearwardly inclined member 3!] and-a base men'lber32. Secured to "the front portion of the member 22 by means of suitable-screws 3 and nuts 36 are similar L shaped members having upstanding side portions '38 and 'base portions All. i g

, Pivoted to each of the side brackets ill by meanspf a suitable pivot pin 42 is a link 44, which link at its other end is pivoted to the plate Ell by' nea'nsof a suitable pivot pin 45. It should e not d 'at this point that the link 44 is pivoted thebra cke't l8 adjacent its forward end while another link of similar shape and design 48 is pivoted by means-of a pivot pin 5% to the bracket it its rear end. i The links differ in length, eierably 1 /4 inches, for centering prone positions. At he upper end of the link "(33 a further 'ot p'in is pro 'vide'd which e'Xtends through ev'e'rtical plate Siiattached to the seat member 29 and the plate 38 attached to the back member 2-2, as clearlyshown in Figure 2. v

Rotatably secured to each pivot pin '45 at its inzi'e'r end adjacent the inner surfaceof the vertic al plate '38 is a latch bar 56 whichis further providedat its free end with a horizontal lug that extends beyond both the inner and outer "lfa'ces of the latch bar 54 itself. The lug further extends through and is guidingly received in a slot 5}? 'in the plate 36. Aswill be seen later, this lug E5 is, in-efiect, a locking member. will be seen more "clearly in Fi ureS S and 4, ieachof the plates 3% is further provided with an aperture 58 for receiving one end of a 'spring tfl which 'is 3 wound around the pivot pin 46 and is hooked at its free end 62. This spring 6E! urges the lug 55 into engagement with looking teeth on the plate 38, which will be described hereinafter.

The bottom edge of each of the plates 38 secured to the back member 22 is provided with a plurality of teeth 6a which are arcuate to pro-w duce cam surfaces, as at 66. The forward edge of the plate 38 immediately in front of the forwardmost tooth is also arcuate to produce a cam surface 68.

Freely rotatable on or pivoted to the inner end of each of the pivot pins 52 is a release member 10 which is preferably sectoral in shape having an outer cam surface 1'2. 52, each plate 38 is provided with an inwardly extending lug or stop 14 for limiting the rotation of the release member H1, and the plate 38 is further provided with another internally extending lug 16 which is positioned slightly above the rearmost tooth 56. The stop 14 is so situated that when lug 56 passes the corner of cam I2, the spring will allow lug 56 to force the release member 50 downward, thus creating positive action if the release member 70 does not fall by gravity. The slot for guiding and retaining the lug 58 also assists in this action.

The structural elements of the novel hinge hereinabove described will be best understood with reference to the actual operation of the hinge. Starting from the prone position shown in Figure 5, as the rear member 38 is elevated, the lug 5B is forced into engagement with the rearmost teeth as of the plate 38 by the spring 60. A position of inclination is obtained analogous to that shown in Figure 6. As the rear member 22 is further elevated, the cam surface 86 of the teeth 64 force the lug 56 out of engagement with the teeth, pivoting the latch bar 54 downwardly against the action of the spring 60'. When the notch formed about the second tooth is reached, the spring 60 again urges the lug 50 into engagement with the second tooth, providing an inclination analogous to that shown in Figure 7. The process hereinabove described is repeated until the notch associated with the forwardmost tooth is engaged by the lug 56. When the rear member 22 is further elevated a slight distance, the cam surface 68 carried by the plates 33 will press against the inner end portion of the lug 56, disengaging it from the forwardmost notch. At this point, the release member ill will drop down by gravity so that the cam surface 12 overrides the outer end portion of the lug 56, preventing the latter from re- In the event that engaging any of the teeth. the release member does not drop by gravity, positive action for urging it downwardly is attained as follows. The stop 14 is so situated that when lug 55 passes the corner of cam 12, the stop 14 will strike the front edge of the release member 10 to supply a momentary kick thereto and force the release member 10 downwardly. As the rear member 22 is now moved in a downward direction, the stop 16 will engage the rear edge of the release member 10, as shown clearly in Figure 4, until the rear member is in a prone position, as shown in Figure 5, at which point the release member 10 will clear the lug 56, so that the above procedure for elevating the rear member in adjusted positions could be repeated. The provision of two pivot bars or links M. and 48 will obviously permit the swivelling of both the seat member and rear member upon the base frame in difierentpositions of inclination.

Above the pivot pin In View of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An adjustable and releasable hinge comprising a first plate having a plurality of locking teeth in one of its edges, a second plate, a pivot pin extending through said plates securing them together for vertical pivotal movement of said first plate on said second plate, a latch bar vertically pivotal upon said second plate, a locking lug extending transversely through said latch bar adjacent its free end, said lug having inner and outer end portions, resilient means normally urging said latch bar upwardly and said inner end portion of said lug into locking engagement with said teeth, inclined cam surfaces on said teeth for urging said lug out of engagement with said teeth and against action of said resilient means upon upward movement of said first plate on said second plate, and release means for blocking are-engagement of said lug in said teeth at a predetermined upward pivoted position of said first plate on said second plate, said release means including a cam surface on said one edge of said first plate adapted to force said inner end portion of said lug downwardly and out of engagement with said teeth against action of said resilient means, and a cam member rotatably mounted for vertical movement on said pivot pin and adapted to engage said outer end portion of said lug after the latter has been disengaged from said teeth.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said cam member is a sector-shaped plate rotatably mounted adjacent its apex on said pivot point, the arcuate edge of said sector-shaped plate being adapted to engage said outer end portion of said lug.

3. The combination of claim 2 and a stop carried by said first plate adapted to strike one of the straight edges of said sector-shaped plate and urge the same downwardly and into engagement with said outer end portion of said lug when said first plate attains said predetermined upward pivotal position.

4. The combination of claim 3 and a second stop carried by said first plate adapted to strike the other straight edge of said sector-shaped plate and move the latter upwardly and over said outer end portion of said lug when said first plate is pivoted downwardly on said second plate.

VIRGIL P. CARRICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

